Use of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test in an Ethnically Diverse Gifted Population.

Saccuzzo, Dennis P.; And Others

The efficacy of use of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (RPM) in the selection of gifted children from traditionally underrepresented groups was investigated in a large-scale study with a diverse population. A total of 16,985 subjects were given the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. These included 22.7 percent Latinos, 37 percent Whites, 14 percent African-Americans, 2.8 percent Asians, 8.4 percent Filipinos, and 5.6 percent Indochinese, each of whom had been identified as potentially gifted on the basis of a case study analysis by a school psychologist. The sample of children certified as gifted based on Raven performance was compared to a group certified as gifted based on individual administrations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R), and to actual enrollment ratios of cultural subgroups for the school district. Findings support the position that the RPM is a more equitable test than the WISC-R for evaluating students from ethnically diverse populations, as well as for ensuring greater gender equity. (PB)